Dieffenbachia is a herbaceous perennial native to tropical American countries. It is commonly known as dumbcane but has several other names; Gold Dieffenbachia, Variable Dieffenbachia, or Spotted Dumbcane.
Most gardeners grow it as a houseplant. The plant has a non-native appeal with elliptic-oblong-shaped leaves that come in various colors. The leaves have white, yellow, and cream brushstrokes that give them a striking appearance.
The plant grows to 10 feet, with leaves spreading to 20 inches.
You will love its shout-out among other houseplants. On the flip side, Dieffenbachia is toxic to pets and children.
It is called dumb cane due to its irritating sap containing oxalate crystals. These oxalate crystals irritate the soft parts of the mouth and cause a soar throat.
Dieffenbachia thrives in medium light levels with indoor room temperatures.
Let’s talk more about Dieffenbachia and its companion plants.
Growing and Potting Dieffenbachia
If Dieffenbachia looks like a good catch for you, you may want to propagate it indoors through potting.
- When preparing the potting mix, pick peaty soil that is well-draining and slightly acidic. Soggy soil leads to root damage.
- Identify bright spots with indirect sunlight in your house.
- The environment should also be humid. You can achieve this by misting the leaves, especially during the dry months of Winter.
- Alternatively, you can provide a humid environment by keeping the pot on a wet tray with pebbles.
- Dieffenbachia grows best in scanty sunlight. Keep rotating the plant to ensure it has enough sunlight.
- One of the things you need to look out for is your watering patterns. Overwatering causes problems with Dieffenbachia, something typical of houseplants.
- Water the plant twice a week except during winters. Always ensure the top patch of the soil is dry before doing that.
The water should drain through the bottom of the pot. - Common pests to Dieffenbachia are spider mites. You could use commercial products like horticultural oil to get rid of them.
- Dieffenbachia thrives best in a temperature range of 18-23 degrees celsius. Avoid temperatures below 15 degrees celsius as it may lead to leaf loss.
To keep your plant healthy, regularly feed it with fertilizer after every 4-6 weeks. Use a diluted and well-balanced fertilizer.
Companion Plants For Dieffenbachia
As mentioned earlier, Dieffenbachia loves indirect lighting, high humidity, and a temperature range of 18-23 degrees celsius.
Any houseplants that grow well under these conditions should be ideal companions to Dieffenbachia.
To start with, we have a list of plants that meet the above criteria.
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
Spider Plant is a popular houseplant amongst gardeners. It’s a perennial flowering plant native to Southern Africa with familiar names like spider ivy and ribbon plant.
The plant has been naturalized in other habitats, such as Western Australia. The most popular types are the variegated ones.
Spider plant grows to about 24 inches tall with leaves that reach 8-18 inches. It thrives in almost any condition.
The plant has typical small plantlets that form along its trailing stems, appearing like spiders. The narrow strap-shaped leaves arise from a central point.
Some species have solid green leaves, while others have a variety of yellow or white lengthwise stripes.
Their leaves appear folded down the middle.
Spider plants love medium to bright light. Keep humidity in your room average and ensure cool to average temperature ranges.
However, the plant can also tolerate warm conditions.
The spider plant blends perfectly with your Dieffenbachia, thanks to its variegated nature.
Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
Also known as the Sword Fern, the Boston Fern adds to the list of Dieffenbachia companion plants. It’s a fern species in the family Nephrolepidaceae and is native to most tropical regions.
The plant has sword-shaped arching fronds with numerous tiny leaflets.
Boston Fern is evergreen and grows to a height of 35 inches.
The plant does not require extreme sunlight, making it a good fit for indoor planting. You can place the plant in a moderately lit spot, avoiding too much shade.
It has similar temperature tolerances to that of Dieffenbachia. Too much heat or cold destroys the plant.
Boston Fern thrives in high humidity ranges above 80%. You want to place the planting pot on a tray filled with water pebbles.
The other option to go for is to mist the plants.
Low humidity causes the frond tips to turn brown. If the situation isn’t corrected early enough, the brown coloration gradually increases to the fronds and the entire plant.
Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior)
Next up, we have the Cast Iron Plant on our list. As the name suggests, the plant is highly adaptable and can withstand neglect to a greater extent. It is a flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family and a native to Japan.
Gardeners grow it widely as a houseplant, but it can also do well in the outdoor environment, thanks to its robustness and resiliency.
It has beautiful foliage with lance-shaped vivid green leaves that grow up to 2 feet tall, spreading 3 feet wide. The plant produces gorgeous creamy purple flowers at its base.
Growing a Cast Iron plant requires patience due to its slow growth rate.
The plant does not love direct sunlight; it causes its leaves to bleach and burn. Plant them under indirect sunlight in a shady area.
The Cast Iron plant best thrives under temperature ranges of 18-23 degrees celsius.
It does well in moderate humidity levels; however, it’s not a requirement for healthy growth.
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
The aglaonema is a flowering plant in the Araceae family. It’s native to Asia, and you will identify it by its erect growing and creeping stems.
Their short stems have large vivid oval leaves that come with color variations from dark green to red. You will love it as a houseplant in your home decor.
Like the above plants, they are easy to grow indoors. They prefer indirect sunlight indoors, making them perfect companions for Dieffenbachia.
The dark green varieties love more shade than the variegated types. Consequently, exposing the plant to direct sunlight burns its delicate leaves.
If planting indoors, avoid exposure to cool temperatures near air conditioning vents. Keep the temperature around 23 degrees celsius.
Aglaonema loves high humidity levels, which you would find in greenhouses; however, you can successfully grow it indoors by emulating these conditions.
You may want to acquire a humidifier or grow it near your bathroom or kitchen— areas with high humidity.
Dragon Tree (Dracaena marginata)
The Dragon tree is a common houseplant with slender red-edged leaves. It’s native to Madagascar and forgiving to beginning gardeners.
You will love it because of its unique beauty, hardiness, and ability to tolerate drought conditions.
Outdoors, the tree can grow up to 20 feet tall.
It thrives in bright (indirect) light but can grow under partial shade. Direct sunlight rays cause leaves to burn.
Dragon tree does well in temperature ranges of 21-26 degrees celsius and loves a humid environment. Use a humidifier or mist the plant regularly.
These conditions are more or less similar to those required for Dieffenbachia, making it a perfect companion plant.
Conclusion
Dieffenbachia plants can be an excellent addition to your house from an aesthetic point of view. The companion plants listed above will only add to their beauty while not being too demanding on their own.
However, do care about choosing planting spots as they can be an irritant to your pets or children.
